[Prevalence of peripheral arterial disease and correlative risk factors among natural population in China].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and correlative risk factors among natural population in China.

Methods: Ankle brachial index (ABI) was measured by trained doctors and related data were collected in residents from Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha, Guangdong, Neimenggu, and Xinjiang selected through cluster multistage and random sampling method. PAD was defined as an ABI < or = 0.

[Research of the relationship between smoking and peripheral arterial disease].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between smoking and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) by investigate the smoking status and measuring the (ABI).

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 3379 male patients hospitalized in the departments of cardiovascular internal medicine, nephrology, and endocrinology, aged 40-98, 2253 smokers and 1126 non-smokers, to understand their life styles, anamnesis, and smoking history. All patients underwent measurement of systolic blood pressures of the upper arm and ankle so as to calculate the ankle-brachial index (ABI).